Today I Will

One of my new favorite books is called *Today I Will* by Eileen & Jerry Spinelli (Jerry is the author of Stargirl & <3 Stargirl!). This book has ~A year of quotes, notes, and promises to myself~.

Since I got it at the end of this month [I spent $9 for an advanced reader's copy, soft cover! It beats paying $25 for something brand new, even though I had to wait a month for it to be shipped from Alaska), I had some catching up to do! The majority of the lessons and promises may come off as juvenile on the surface, but these sayings can be taken to heart by EvErYoNe! Maybe, *especially* by those people in their early 20s (is 23 "early" or "mid" 20s?? o sheesh...) who are in their own personal journey to find themselves, what kind of person they want to be, how they want to live, and what they want to accomplish in this world. These short, simple, yet impacting quotes can help inspire an individual on their journey to find out who they really are and how they want to empower this world! =)

Here are a just a few from January 1-March 31st:

January 28th:

~My friends thought I was crazy~ Brave Harriet

Do your friends ever think you're crazy? If not, check yourself- you may be in danger of becoming boring. Surprise your friends. Surprise yourself.

*Today I'll do something unpredictable*

February 1st:

~It is also human nature to define a person by his or her job, which is a mistake~ Chris Crutcher

In many cases, a big mistake. When you know a person's job, you only know what a person does for a living, not who that person is.

*I already think about what my life's work might be, my job. But that will never be the total me. I will always be more than my job. No matter how much I love my job, I will never allow it to become all of me. And I will keep this in mind when I consider others*

February 6th: (this is one that really hits home for me)

~You'll know this for yourself, someday, Ellie said. How forgiveness sets you free~ Carolyn Coman

Are you harboring a hatred? Or, more to the point, is a hatred harboring you? Did someone do something bad to you? say something bad about you? something you can't forgive? It almost feels good, doesn't it?...A hard hatred to gnaw on, to pour your bile over, crouched in your dark bunker, seething, remembering, pulling the unforgivable to your chest, embracing it, squeezing yourself into it, becoming it, becoming smaller...smaller...

*Is a hatred consuming me, diminishing me, paralyzing me? Is it squeezing me into a clot in a dark corner? Today I will let it go. I will come up from the darkness and stretch out in the sun, and I will walk tall again*

March 1st: (another one that hits home for me)

~I have heard so many convincing doomsday predictions that I should have seen the world end at least six times in my lifetime~ Joy Cowley

Naysayers and doomsdayers- what would we do without them? By telling us we are bound to fail, they inspire us to succeed. By telling us the world is a rotten place that's going to end tomorrow, they turn our attention to what's good and beautiful today. Call it social ecology: Like wasps, even "No" people have their place.

*Tell me about it. I've already got "No" people in my life. Always complaining. Finding fault. Never satisfied. Always putting other people down, including me. One of these days I'm going to thank them for providing a public service*

March 9th:

~It wasn't long after that when television antennas started to sprout from the rooftops like weeds in the springtime. And the more they grew, the fewer boys and girls came out to listen to my stories~ Allen Say

TV is a relentless tyrant. It bullies other diversions and seeks to swallow every minute you can spare and some you can't. It holds you captive in its glowing eye until you forget the wonders of live theater, the cozy solitude of reading a book, the whisper of a storyteller.

*When I'm not plopped in front of a computer or video game, am I plopped in front of a TV? Have I been duped into thinking TV is the only way to admit stories into my life? What other forms of storytelling am I missing just because I refuse to click the Off button on the TV remote?...Click*

March 30th:

~Some days sting and others pour like sugar from your spoon~ Heidi Mordhorst

Some days are so bad you're afraid they'll never end, others are so good you wish they'd never end. That's days for you-not much you can do about them. But there is something you do have control over: your attitude. When your day is pouring like sugar, you can cherish and live every moment of it to the fullest. And when your day stings, you can take comfort in knowing there may be sugar on the other side of midnight.

*Will today be sting or sugar? Whichever, I've got an attitude ready to handle it*


Until next time... =)

xoxo
<33holly